Booklaunch and Signing
The Photographers' Gallery, London
23.01.2014, 18.30

Glen Erler

Family Tree

»It often dawns on me in my daily existence: the fragility we face from moment to moment. The idea of living as long as humanly possible seems to consume a good portion of my time these days. What will my children do without me? How will they experience the very surreal moments of knowing someone is here one minute, yet gone the next?« Glen Erler

In "Family Tree", the American photographer Glen Erler reflects on the various ways in which members of his family are connected. In his often dark, shadowy pictures, Erler gives onlookers enough room to reconsider their own emotional ties. The family home and its surroundings are the backdrop for barely graspable stories that come together fleetingly to form pictures, only to disappear again. Erler covertly poses fundamental questions about the transience of the moment and our own mortality. The final section in this series is titled "The Last Ten Days" of which covers Glen’s journey leading to the burial of his father after his sudden death. The images are a shattering depiction reflecting on the reality and emptiness the loss of someone close can bring upon us. A beautifully tender yet at times harsh body of work.